CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I don’t give a shit if you don’t like the feeling,” said Butch. “We both agreed to do this and we have to prove that this shit works.”
“Don’t yell at me,” said his sister. “I’m doing the best I can, Butch but I’m having some pretty severe side-effects.”
“We all are!”
His sister backed up from him, staring him down. She wasn’t afraid of him but she knew that right now he was stronger than she was and could hurt her if he lost his temper.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” he said softly. “It would kill me if you were afraid of me. We’re siblings. Twins.”
“I’m aware of what we are,” she said quietly. “I’m going to see if I can get something for this urinary tract infection. It’s really painful and this is the fourth one in six months. Hopefully, the meds will work better this time.”
“I’ll come with you,” he said apologetically. “I want to be there for you.”
“You don’t have to,” she said shaking her head.
“I don’t mind, Helen. Really. I want to be there for you, like you’ve been there for me.”
“You’re my brother, Butch. I’ll always be there for you.”
“Thanks for the help tonight, Stone. Hiro is feeling under the weather and we didn’t want him sneezing everywhere and setting off alarms,” said Tanner. Stone laughed, shaking his head.
“It’s no problem, man. This is my thing. I love the cybersecurity part of our business. It’s how I found Bronwyn again.”
“Really?” smirked AJ.
“Really. We’d gone to high school together and I made the tragic mistake of dating her sister. Although, dating is a loose term. Her sister was free with her favors and love if you get my drift.”
“We get your drift,” said AJ.
“Bronwyn was always the one I wanted. Always the one I loved. Seeing her in that strip club was jarring.”
“Wait. Bronwyn worked in a strip club?” frowned Tanner.
“She wasn’t a dancer,” said Stone. “She was working there as a waitress and hoping to find her sister, the one I went out with. Turns out she’d pissed off all the wrong people and got herself killed.
We were there to install the security cameras at the place and I saw her.
She thought I had something to do with her sister’s death. ”
“No fucking way,” frowned AJ.
“We got it straightened out. It took her a little bit to get over the fact that I’d slept with her sister but in fairness, she’d slept with a lot of men so Bronwyn would have found it difficult to find someone who hadn’t slept with Jane.”
“That seems harsh,” said Tanner.
“It’s the truth. I just didn’t see it earlier. I’m not proud of the fact that I was one of dozens, if not hundreds. I’m not proud that I was happy to let her get me off, knowing I loved her sister. But I’ve made up for that over the years with Bronwyn.”
“Dude, you couldn’t have known what kind of woman she was,” said Tanner.
“But I think I did,” said Stone. “I think I always knew she was sleeping with other guys but it was mutual satisfaction. I’m grateful that Bronwyn was able to forgive me. In fairness, it all happened when I was just a kid myself.”
“It’s open,” said AJ pushing the door open in the alleyway. “Alarm is deactivated and I’m not picking up on any cameras at all in this place.”
“You’d think with him having merchandise and all the supplements, he would want cameras in case of shoplifting,” said Stone.
“Yeah, makes you wonder if he gives a shit about any of this,” said Tanner. “I’ll get some cameras set in the workout areas. You guys handle the locker rooms. Remember, angle for neck up and sound. I’m not some perverted asshole.”
“The cameras are designed to only kick on for video when we say so,” said AJ. “They’ll pick up all sound but won’t turn on for video unless we direct it to.”
“Sweet,” nodded Stone. “Let’s get busy.”
It took the three men two hours to get all the equipment in place, hidden, and functioning. The last thing to do was check the vacant office where Butch gave the injections.
AJ worked on the lock while the others stood watch. Even the lock was easy to pick. Butch obviously didn’t think anyone would bother trying to get to his shit.
“I don’t think our boy has a cleaning service,” said Tanner looking down in a trash can. Two empty vials were in the trash, along with a handful of syringes and needles.
“That’s a health hazard,” frowned AJ. “He’s supposed to have a container for used needles and syringes. By law he’s supposed to have them in the bathrooms for people who are diabetic or on other injectable medications. Legal injectables.”
“Again, I don’t think he gives a flying fuck nugget if he’s legal or not. Careful with the vials and syringes,” said Stone. The men all wore gloves and carefully put the items in a secure container to take with them.
Assured that everything was recording back home, they left the way they’d come in, wiping all the surfaces as they left. With the locks engaged once more, they headed home.
When they pulled into Belle Fleur, it was no surprise to any of them that Luke, Hex, Eric, and Cam were waiting.
“All good?” asked Eric.
“Dude, you were listening to everything,” smirked AJ. “You know it went well.”
“Just asking, Junior,” he smirked. “Get some rest. We’ll see what tomorrow brings us.”